June 14, 2008

Dear Friends:

For the last two years, Cedepca has been participating with the Lutheran World Federation and with local Roman Catholic and Maya groups studying the relationship between religion, development, and international cooperation.

In May, we had a conference in Antigua, Guatemala, which included representatives of 22 church-related development agencies from Europe, the United States, Canada, and 23 churches, para-church agencies and civil society groups from throughout Central America. This is the first time that international church agencies have sat down to discuss development issues with representatives of Roman Catholic and Evangelical churches, including Pentecostals, and with representatives of Mayan spirituality.

In our part of the world, most Protestants don't consider Roman Catholics to be Christians, many Catholics dismiss Protestants as “separated siblings,” and both suspect that Mayan spirituality might be in league with the Devil.

My task at this meeting was to present a paper on how important religion is in Central American culture, with an emphasis on the rapid growth of Pentecostalism in the region.

The second day of the conference we received a visit by Msr. Álvaro Ramazzini, Bishop of San Marcos, one of Guatemala's most populous and impoverished departments. For 40 minutes, Msr. Ramazzini shared with evangelistic passion his Gospel vision of service to the poor in the name of Jesus. Something is wrong, he said, in a country where 95 percent of the population confess faith in Jesus Christ but where we are still shackled by violence, corruption, racism, chronic hunger and extreme poverty.

In recent months, Msr. Ramazzini has been receiving death threats. Before the session began, I asked him if, at the end of his testimony, he would permit the conference participants to express our solidarity with him by laying our hands on his shoulders and praying for him. Con gusto, he responded. (I should mention that I have known Msr. Ramazzini for years; he would have told me if he thought the gesture to be inappropriate.)

The Reverend Verónica Pérez leads blessing of Msr. Álvaro Ramazzini, a Roman Catholic bishop who has been receiving death threats for denouncing the violence, corruption, racism, chronic hunger, and extreme poverty endemic to Guatemala

I invited the Reverend Verónica Pérez, a Pentecostal minister and coordinator of Cedepca's Biblical and theological training program, to lead the prayer. We invited all present to form a circle around the bishop and extend their hands in prayer and blessing. Msr. Ramazzini bowed his head, many people extended their hands, and Verónica prayed God's blessing on this faithful servant. Verónica prayed like the Pentecostal minister that she is. It was a special moment, and afterward Msr. Ramazzini expressed his gratitude to the assembly. 

Some of those present didn't know what to make of this incident. Later, a trusted friend commented: “Dennis, when you asked Verónica to pray, and invited everyone to participate in the laying on of hands, I heard someone say '¡Qué horror!'”

That is the world in which we live. A Pentecostal minister, a woman, blessing a Catholic bishop? For some folks, yes: ¡Qué horror!

To be a sign of God's coming reign is, still, a source of scandal for many people. We must undertake the journey ahead with humility and tenderness. We must develop the grace to discern the breath of God's Spirit, blow where She will. But it will take time; the seeds of bitterness and division are still deeply rooted in our hearts.

Under the Mercy,

Dennis Smith

The 2008 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 258